BJ Lackland. He has spent over 15 years as an investor in startups. As an investor, he’s been in VC and Angel and is now the CEO of Lighter Capital, where he oversees over 200 alternative investments in early stage tech companies. As an executive, he’s been on the executive team of 3 companies including CFO of a public tech company called Power Efficiency Corp. He’s raised and uploaded over $150M worth of capital.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Crossing the Chasm
What CEO do you follow? – N/A
Favorite online tool? — Cirrus
How many hours of sleep do you get? — 4-5
If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – “Just keep seeking”

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:20 – Nathan introduces BJ to the show
02:05 – BJ was at VC in the early 2000s for 5 years and focused on energy technology
02:58 – Lighter Capital is a fintech company that revolutionized as a startup finance
- 03:06 – They are using technology to improve entrepreneurs’ access to capital
03:14 – Lighter Capital’s model
- 03:23 – An entrepreneur spends 8-10 hours with them before they write a check
- 03:30 – The revenue-based financing tends to be the best aspect of equity
03:58 – On average, Lighter Capital provides companies $250K and can go up to $2M
- 04:28 – Pay multiple is 1.5 to 2 times and paid typically over a 3 to 5-year period
- 04:53 – If the company grows quickly, they can pay in a shorter time period
- 05:00 – “We have every incentive of trying to help them grow”
- 05:07 – Lighter Capital is really betting on the entrepreneurs
05:20 – Lighter Capital has raised a total of $120M
- 05:23 – The initial fund was $20M
05:45 – Lighter Capital is raising from traditional LPs
06:44 – Lighter Capital makes money like a bank does
07:35 – Most lenders are worried about payment defaults
07:44 – Lighter Capital focuses on helping companies grow long-term
08:40 – Lighter Capital has a minimum threshold of $15K a month
08:55 – Lighter Capital looks into 2 different audiences
- 08:58 – One is their customers
- 09:01 – The other one is their capital partner
09:14 – Lighter Capital is funding 10-12 companies a month
09:40 – Lighter Capital has a group of 9 developers and data scientists
09:49 – Lighter Capital has 90% accuracy for predicting revenue
10:45 – Lighter Capital still goes through several different factors for approving a company
11:56 – In Episode 421, Nathan had Ceterus who worked with Lighter Capital
- 12:17 – The payment can or cannot accelerate depending on the company
12:44 – Companies can pay lighter capital earlier with a lesser amount
13:56 – Lighter Capital funded companies that are just by themselves
15:00 – Lighter Capital is also funding similar companies
15:36 – In Episode 542, Nathan had HipLead and on Episode 560, Badger Maps, and they both worked with Lighter Capital
17:34 – Lighter Capital worked with 101 companies last year
17:54 – Lighter Capital closed a lot of deals last Christmas
19:20 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

Thousands of new businesses are coming out every month; having easy access to capital is a huge advantage for them.
Predicting one company’s future revenue is beneficial, both for the investor and the company.
Keep seeking, stay curious, and always find new things to learn about.

Resources Mentioned:

The Top Inbox – The site Nathan uses to schedule emails to be sent later, set reminders in inbox, track opens, and follow-up with email sequences
Organifi – The juice was Nathan’s life saver during his trip in Southeast Asia
Klipfolio – Track your business performance across all departments for FREE
Acuity Scheduling – Nathan uses Acuity to schedule his podcast interviews and appointments
Host Gator– The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for the cheapest price possible
Audible– Nathan uses Audible when he’s driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5-hour drive) to listen to audio books
Freshbooks – Nathan doesn’t waste time so he uses Freshbooks to send out invoices and collect his money. Get your free month NOW

Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

658: Startups, $120 Million Up For Grabs! As Close to "Free Money" as You Can Get.

SaaS Interviews with CEOs, Startups, Founders